Sourcing Coco Coir Grow Media

What is the difference between low quality coco coir and high quality coco coir?

Thinking about using coconut coir or making the swap over to coco coir grow media for your commercial or industrial grow operation? If so, there are some important points to consider when it comes to selecting a quality coco coir manufacturers product for your grow operations.  As with most products, raw materials are sourced from all over the world. As such, each country has their own rules and regulations in terms of quality of materials, whatever the materials may be. Furthermore, depending on the product manufacturers country of origin may also have an impact in terms of quality control and regulations. 

The above is a similar example of what is going on in the coco coir grow media industry. There are many coco coir manufacturers, raw material suppliers, and coco coir distributors that create and sell coco coir products that have absolutely no place in a commercial or industrial grow operation. Some of the lesser quality brands of coco coir have been known to leave higher amounts of buffer, salts, additives, heavy metals, and even unwanted toxins. Once again, tying back to being careful with selecting a coco coir grow media brand, it is highly advised to stick to well known brands that are frequently tested for quality assurance and have reports to prove they are in fact selling a clean and quality product.

What You Should Know About Coco Coir-

Buffered Coco Coir-

In almost all cases, there should not be any need for a manufacturer to add anything to a natural and organic coco coir grow media product, unless the manufacturer specifically sells a special coco coir blended product. By adding a buffer to the grow media, a grower risks contaminating not only their grow system but also the surrounding environment, and water supply. If a coco coir grow media product has an undesired EC level, then adjusting the levels at the grow facility itself should prove to be more than sufficient and without jeopardizing the grow op or surrounding environment. Another poor characteristic of buffered coco coir grow media is that it actually decreases the amount of available growth space for roots as it can reduce lignin levels by up to 60+%.

Coconut Coir from Parts of India-

Most coco coir from India comes from areas that are by the ocean and as such, contain extremely high levels of salt. Additionally, coco coir from India is frequently produced as a by-product of the fiber industry where it is basically thrown out, where it collects into massive piles with no protection from the elements. From here, Large trading companies buy in bulk and resell to coco coir manufacturers across the globe, with very little oversight or quality control protocols. Most commercial and industrial cultivators are aware of this and typically shy away from cheap coco coir grow media that sources raw material from India. (Sorry guys...)

Coconut Coir from Sri Lanka-

In Sri Lanka, the growing media is an industry all to itself, with coconut husk being harvested from fresh water sources solely and specifically for commercial and industrial crop production. 

One of the largest coco coir manufacturers in Sri Lanka is a company called RioCoco. RioCoco produces some of the world’s finest coco coir grow media. Riococo keeps up with the extreme demand by operating 245 ISO certified facilities throughout Sri Lanka. Riococo operates on a global scale, currently shipping to commercial and industrial growers in over 63+ countries.

Why Riococo?

Riococo controls the entire manufacturing process, from harvesting the raw materials to the finished coco coir grow media product. As such, Riococo's products have obtained the prestigious OMRI certification for their coco coir grow media products. Furthermore, all of RioCoco’s coco coir is heat treated multiple times, sanitized, and tested for heavy metals and other harmful toxins before the manufacturing processes, ensuring it’s customers are using the finest quality of coco coir grow media. RioCoco currently offers coco coir starter plugs, coco coir bags, coco coir blocks for commercial and industrial growers.

For more information about RioCoco’s premium coco coir growing media, please visit- https://www.morr.com/manufacturer/riococo-worldwide/